The story line is stretched, metaphors become tiresome and predictable, and the novelty of any form of entertainment has worn off.
Minus a few exceptions (I’m looking at you Toy Story and Star Wars) I lose interest in trilogies by the second film. No wonder then, that I’m so tired of lockdown 3.0.
Tired, bored, fed up. You name it, I’ve felt it this lockdown and I’m far from the only one. I’ve had friends on the phone in crisis; read through streams of negative posts on social media; socially distant walks where it’s so cold you must wiggle your toes to check they are still attached.
Winter in lockdown has been as hard as the experts said it would be, and with the death toll reaching new highs, it’s inevitable we have reached a new low.
The only thing angering me more than those who reach over you in a supermarket while mumbling “can I just…”, is the increase in ‘toxic positivity’ floating through the air.
If you’re not familiar with the phrase, you will undoubtedly have come across an example – it’s where we are forced to pretend we are happy and look on the bright side of life despite the circumstances we are in.
Our daily lives are punctuated by redundancies, health risks, home-schooling, loneliness, alienation. So no, I won’t preach ‘positive vibes only’ and neither should you.
Your people don’t need you to be the endless optimist when you know employees are struggling. Instead, they want you to be intuitive, communicative, and dare I say it, human.
There’s no shame in finding this lockdown, and the ongoing crisis, hard. I would be concerned if you didn’t, and relentlessly trying to remain positive denies the reality we are facing.
Instead of looking towards a brighter future, why not take stock of where you are right now? I’m sure in the past year you have achieved something, many things in fact, you didn’t think possible just 12 months ago.
Our lives may feel repetitive, but our progress isn’t.
HR is doing remarkable work in these most uncertain times. Don’t tire yourself by trying to be positive all the time, but also don’t forget to take notice of how far you have come.
Keep going – the credits will be rolling soon.
The full piece of the above appears in the January/February 2021 issue of HR magazine. Subscribe today to have all our latest articles delivered right to your desk.
